AprilCadence2013

IVO PERELMAN –
MATTHEW SHIPP –
MICHAEL BISIO
THE GIFT
LEO 657
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE /
THE GIFT / THE GRATUITOUS
ACT / REFUGE / WHAT IS
ANGUISH? / SUBMISSION
TO THE
PROCESS / A RIDE ON
A CAMEL / A FLOWER
BEWITCHED AND TOO
BRIGHT BY FAR / WITHOUT
ANY WARNING /
ENLISTMENT. TOTAL TIME:
61:13.
Ivo Perelman – ts; Matthew
Shipp – p; Michael Bisio – b.
7/12, Brooklyn, NY
The relationship between
Brazilian saxophonist
Ivo Perelman and pianist
Matthew Shipp dates
back to at least the
mid 1990s when they
recorded the duo set
Bendito Of Santa Cruz.
New Issues
121 | CadenCe Magazine | april May June 2013
Since then, over the years, they've periodically
renewed their partnership. Michael Bisio has been
the bassist in Shipp's trio for the past few years. And
Perelman has always favored strong bassists as the
multiple recordings he's made with Dominic Duval
can attest. All three of these musicians frequently
(though not exclusively) use free improvisation as
their starting point, so one would assume that The
Gift would be quite a "comfortable" session. And that
is just what it is. Everyone is on point. Perelman's
broad, sweeping tenor seduces the listener with his
patented mixture of strongly etched melodic lines
mixed with well-placed cries and screams. Although
he's frequently compared to Ayler, he's clearly his own
player and combines Aylerian techniques into his own
unique brew. Matthew Shipp accompanies him with
his richly shaded harmonic palette. Shipp is an active
accompanist and his interjections and full chords seem
to spark unexpected directions from Perelman. Bisio's
rich, woody bass roams freely underneath adding a
third level. There's a high level of three-way interaction
and the music moves cleanly and determinedly
forward. In a trio, this type of playing can only work
if all three players are of an equal caliber and that is
the success of this aggregation. Another indication of
the trio's sympatico relationship is that these are ten
discrete tracks with beginnings and endings. No fade
ins or excerpts from longer pieces. Players have o be on
the same wavelength to accomplish this. On this disc,
one player will usually start the piece and
the other two are usually close behind, picking up the
thread, commenting, filling in, pushing and
shaping the music and soon all three are working to
create a singular piece of music. Best example of
this is the longest track "A Flower Bewitched And Too
Bright By Far". Shipp starts the piece with
beautifully dense chords, slowly evolving until
Perelman and Bisio enter transforming this into a
beautiful, lengthy ballad that keeps unfolding, never
repeating its material. Somehow midway through
during Bisio's solo the tempo picks up and the other
two follow suit, bringing the piece to a surprising
conclusion. The Gift is the way free improvisation
should be. Robert Iannapollo